TOS: Beyond Forever A Sequel
by SuperluminalM42
Summary: A sequel to my story: TOS: Beyond Forever. Tells the story of what happened when Ambassador Spock left Romulus. He takes an unexpected deture to Deep.Space 9.


This story is a sequel to my story "Beyond Forever" and answers the question: What Ambassador Spock did after leaving Romulus.

The Dominion War was over. The disappearance of Captain Sisko still cast a shadow of gloom. But, Deep Space Nine had returned to some semblance of pre-war normal.

The Promenade was bustling with activity as aliens from dozens of worlds mingled together. Yet two human men, Chief Miles O'Brian in his buckskin jacket and coonskin cap followed by Dr. Julian Bashear in his eighteen thirties era Texas militia uniform, managed to be the ones to look out of place. They were headed for Quark's holosuites and a final, last stand against Generalisimo Santa Anna at the Alamo.

A Trill and a young Vulcan female were walking out of Quark's Bar. The young lady was smiling and intensely studying a data pad.

"I can't believe how easy it was to win at Dabo." She said.

"Sweety," the Trill said, "that Ferengi was letting you win. If I hadn't stopped you when I did, you'd be lucky if he let you keep the clothes on your back."

The young lady drifted to the side a step and collided with Dr. Bashear.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." She said.

Julian smiled. "Quite alright. Entirely my fault. I should have been watching were you were going."

"Sorry." Julian watched as the girl disappeared into the crowd.

"Julian?" Miles asked. "Are you coming? Santa Anna is a very impatient man."

"Umm, yes Chief." Julian said. "For some reason that girl looked familiar."

An hour later, Generalissimo Santa Anna, once more gloated over the bodies of the Alamo defenders. Except one of the "dead" Texans was staring up at the Texas sky. For Julian, the smiling Vulcan's face was burned into his mind. Who was she?

Miles O'Brian was procrastinating. His departure date for his new assignment at Starfleet Academy was fast approaching, yet packing, was one thing he kept putting off. The door beeped.

"Come in." Miles said.

Julian came rushing in. "Chief, I figured out who she is."

"Who?"

"The girl I ran into coming out of Quark's."

He turned a data pad he carried towards O'Brian. On the screen was an official Starfleet photo of a smiling Vulcan female.

"This is her." He exclaimed.

"I don't think so." Miles said. "The uniform. Starfleet hasn't worn that in twenty-thirty years."

"I know, look at the name. Chief, do you realize who that is?"

"Lt. Ahida Uhura. So what?" Miles asked after reading the name at the bottom of the picture.

"Don't you remember your history? She's the daughter of Ambassador Spock and Nyota Uhura. The communications officer on Kirk's Enterprise."

"Julian, that was a long time ago. You saw someone who looks like her is all."

"Remember that I have a geneticly inhanced mind. No two faces are exactly alike. This is her."

"Julian, I need to start packing."

"After the Academy, she was assigned to the base that protected the Guardian of Forever. She could communicate with it, she time traveled."

"Julian, the Guardian is a myth."

"Yes. Just like Section Thirty One. Remember how that worked out?"

"Granted. If the Guardian was real, are you saying this Ahida, travelled into the future to play Dabo at Quark's? That makes no sense."

"Of course she didn't come here to play Dabo. Her and the Trill she's with are on a mission and I intend to find out what they're up to. Right now, they're on the docking ring, waiting for an Orion freighter. Are you coming with me?"

"No."

"Fine, I'll go alone." Julian headed for the door.

"OK, OK." Miles said as he got up. "I'm coming. But who's gonna keep you out of trouble when I'm gone?"

A short while later, the two men were peeking around a bulkhead. Serveral meters away, the mysterious couple waited by an air lock. Outside, an Orion freighter had dropped out of warp and drifted towards the station.

"That is strange." Miles whispered. "Two people waiting for a freighter. I've never seen anything like it."

"Humph." Julian grunted.

"I think they're spies." The two men almost jumped out of their skin.

"Ezri." Miles nearly shouted. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"You shouldn't spy on people either. Let's just ask them what they're doing. Here, you'll need this." She said as she handed a small case to Julian.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Vulcan cardiology kit. You're going to need it. Now come on." Lt. Dax walked around them and straight for the mysterious couple. Miles and Julian, reluctantly followed.

She stopped in front of the Trill and smiled.

"Curzon, it's good to see you again."

"Well, young lady," Curzon rubbed his hands together, looked Ezri up and down. "It's good to see you. But, I'm afraid we've never met before."

"We've never actually met. You see, I'm Lt. Ezri...Dax."

"You mean," Curzon pointed at her, "you're," then he pointed at himself, "me?"

"Yes." Then she looked at him sternly. "I know what you're thinking and the answer is no."

"I wasn't thinking anything."

"Yes you were and it was disgusting."

"No it wasn't."

"It most definitely was."

"Maybe it was a little... inappropriate."

"Mmph." Ezri turned slightly. "Ahida, it is very pleasing to see you."

Ahida arched an eyebrow. "I take it you carry the Dax symbiot? By contacting us, you may be violating the temporal prime directive."

"A gray area. I know what's going to happen in the next few hours. It's a memory for me. You're going to need me. I've already taken the liberty of removing the Red Matter from your, umm, mis-appropiated, Vulcan ship and placing it aboard the Defiant, it's faster. And we don't have a lot of time."

"Wait a minute."Julian said. "Did the two of you steel a Vulcan ship."

"Yes." Ahida said. "The Vulcan Science Academy considered our claim of being time travelers, illogical. They refused to cooperate. We were left with no alternative. Therefore,we stole a ship."

Julian leaned towards O'Brian. '"Time travellers, see I told you so."

"You don't have to gloat." Miles said.

"Oh," Ezri said, "this is Dr. Julian Bashear, DS Nine's chief surgeon and Chief Miles O'Brian. They'll be..." There was a loud clang and a hiss as the Orion freighter docked with the station. The hatch rolled open and the freighters Captain, a large, menacing green Orion stepped out. He eyed the group.

Ezri stepped forward, "I'm Lt. Dax, we're here to meet Ambassador Spock."

"Me follow." The Captain said. He lead them down a short corridor and opened the door to a small storage room that had been converted into makeshift quarters. On a cot, fingers steepled on his chest, lay the body of Ambassador Spock.

"What happened?" Julian asked, as he ran a tricorder over Spock's body.

"After we departed Romulus, I received a message from Quark. He offered to pay double if I could bring his shipment of Romulan Ale directly to the station. I couldn't turn down that much money. When the Ambassador learned I had diverted to DS Nine, he became very upset, almost violent. He's been like this for several days."

"He's alive." Julian said. "But he's in a self induced, regenerative coma. Miles help me sit him up."

The two men moved Spock into a sitting position. Julian lifted a hand above his head. It came down and slapped Spock across the face very hard.

"Julian! What are you doing?" Miles stepped forward. Ahida pulled him back.

"It's alright, Mr. O'Brian." She said. "It's the Vulcan way."

Two, three, four times Julian struck the Ambassador. As his hand came down for the fifth time. Spocks right hand came up and caught him by the wrist.

"Sufficient." He said. He wiped away a drop of green blood from his lips. "More than sufficient. Where am I?"

"I'm Dax." Ezri said. "You're at Deep Space Nine."

"Nooo. Vulcan, must go to Vulcan. Time's running out." His eyes rolled to the back of his head. Julian was studying the read out on his medical tricorder.

"Father," Ahida reached in and took his hand. "I'm here."

"Ahida, not logical. Must go to Vulcan, the ship, Red Matter, must leave."

"We have the Red Matter. The Guardian sent me here to help. Dax says we're ready to go."

Spock was gasping for breath.

"I have to get this man to the infirmary right away."

"No., Julian." Ezri said. "You have to treat him here. He has to go with us."

"His heart is failing fast. It may already be too late." Julian put an arm around Spock, touched his com badge. "Dr. Bashear to OPS, medical emergency. Two to been directly to sickbay." A moment later they were gone. Ezri was visibly shaken.

"We have to go right now." Ezri said.

"Wait." The Orion Captain said. "If this is where the Ambassador is leaving, I expect to be paid."

Ahida took the data pad out of her pocket, entered some figures on the screen and handed it to the Captain.

"Cash this in at Quark's. It should be enough." The Captain eyed the pad skeptically. Then a broad smile crossed his face.

"I shall enjoy seeing that Ferengi's face. Double the price for Romulan Ale. And this, just might put that swindler out of business." He tuned and hurried for the hatch.

Ezri touched her com badge. "Lt. Dax to Defiant, four to beam aboard."

"Wait a minute." Miles said. "I have to..."

"...start packing." He finished his sentence after materializing on Defiants transporter pad.

"That can wait." Ezri said. "Dax, I mean Curzon, Ahida, accompany the Chief to the weapons bay. Prepare a torpedo with enough Red Matter to implode a star."

"What is this Red Matter, everyone keeps talking about?" Miles asked.

"We'll explain." Ahida said.

When Ezri reached the bridge and sat in the Command chair, she was visibly nervous. The confidence she had felt was gone. The sparse bridge crew stared at her.

"The Ambassador won't be with us. Helm, navigation, lay in a course for Romulus, no, make that Moahb. The blue sub-giant star near Romulus. Warp nine."

The two young officers gave each other a nervous glance, turned to their consoles. A moment later the U.S.S. Defiant leaped to warp.

"Ezri!" Chief O'Brian shouted as he burst onto the bridge. "Are you out of your ever loving mind? Warp nine? This ship has just been through a major battle, it needs at least a month in space dock. She won't last long at this speed."

"We have no choice." Ezri said. "We have to get to Moahb as quickly as possible. Are the torpedoes ready?"

"Yes, but we've got to slow down. Warp could go out at anytime."

Ahida and Curzon were standing behind him.

"Did they brief you on the Red Matter? And that Moahb is about to go supernova and destroy Romulus?"

"That's not going to help the warp drive."

"What they didn't tell you, because Starfleet Intelligence just recently learned. Is that the Romulans have their own version of Red Matter. But they have the formula wrong. Instead of an implosion, it will cause the star to supernova and produce a Trans-hyper Dimensional Wave."

"That's impossible." Miles said.

"I'm not familiar with that term." Ahida said.

"It's a theory." Miles said. "Trans-hyper Dimensional Wave is similar to what caused the, almost, instant expansion of the Universe after the Big Bang. If the Romulans have succeeded in producing one. It could destroy half the galaxy in minutes."

"In another time line, my father failed to prevent the destruction of Romulus and Vulcan. That is what we are trying to prevent now."

"No guarantes, but I know a few tricks, might hold her together." O'Brian said.

"Do your best Chief." O'Brian took his position at the engineering station.

"Young lady who used to be me." Curzon said. "That face you're making, is the same face I make when negotiations are going badly. Is there something you're not telling us?"

"My memories are different. Spock only suffered a minor heart ailment. He led this mission, not me. He should be sitting here, not me. I don't know what will happen next. I don't understand why things are different."

"Time lines are always in motion." Ahida explained. "Curzon and I will return to our time with knowledge of the future. No matter how closely we follow the Temporal Prime Directive, any small thing we, inadvertently do or say. Could cause a ripple that changes the shape of time. This isn't like a holo-novel, or old fashioned movie, this is reality. Events may not repeat as you remember them."

"The only thing you can do, young lady, is get there and shoot that torpedo."

The next few hours passed slowly. O'Brian had worn a path between the bridge and Engineering. The tension on the bridge was thick. But, somehow Curzon sitting at a vacant OPS station, had fallen asleep. Ahida observed that Ezri was still a nervous wreck.

She walked over, placed two fingers to her temple and allowed her Vulcan calm to flow through Ezri. Ezri reached up, touched her hand. She was now much more relaxed.

"I love you." The words were felt more than spoken. Ahida pulled back in shock and Ezri's spots nearly disappeared in embarrassment.

"I Did not mean to say that."

"It was unexpected." Ahida said.

Ezri glanced back where Curzon slept. "He never told you, but he loved you intensely. He never said anything, he respected you too much to jeopardize your friendship."

"I had no idea."

"A regret he took to the grave, but a feeling that lives on in the Dax symbiot."

"Sir." The Ensign at helm said. "We're in sensor range of Moahb."

"On-screen." Ezri said. Her confidence back.

"That's not a blue sub-giant." Ahida said.

"No." O'Brian said from the Engineering station. "That's a full fledged Red Giant."

"Are we too late?" Ezri asked as she stood up.

Ahida went to the science station. The instruments were more advanced than she was used to, but she adapted quickly.

"The Romulans have injected their Red Matter, core collapse is imminent."

"Chief, are we in weapons range?" Ezri asked.

"Barely."

Ezri stood up. "Drop us out of warp and fire."

Defiant dropped to sub-light, the torpedo streak away. But the supernova explosion had already begun. A wave propagated away from where Moahb had been. It excellorated rapidly.

"We failed." Ezri whispered. She fell into the command chair. "I failed."

The bridge crew watched in silence as the wave approached. In seconds it would hit. In minutes, half the galaxy would be gone.

Then it began slow. Just before reaching Defiant, it stopped and began to receed. Seconds later it was gone. A small black hole appeared where JoAnn had been moments before.

"We did it." Ezri said. Then she jumped up and shouted. "It worked."

"Huh, what?" Curzon said as he woke up. He saw the black hole on the forward view screen. "Why didn't someone wake me, I wanted to see that."

Everyone on the bridge was staring at him. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Ahida walked over, placed a hand on his shoulder and said. "Curzon, go back to sleep."

Ezri sat in the command chair, turned to the Engineering station and smiled. "Chief Miles O'Brian, would a nice, leisurely warp two, back to DS Nine be too much to ask?"

"Ezri, that would just about be perfect." The Chief replied.

"Then make it so."

Dr. Bashear met Ahida as she entered the stations infirmary.

"How is he?" She asked.

"He's resting comfortably." The Dr. said. "He's already insisting on returning to Romulus. I want to keep a couple more days for observation."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course. And, umm, take all the...time you need."

Ahida entered the small cubicle that had been set up for the Ambassador's privacy.

"Father?"

Spock opened his eyes. "Romulus?"

"It's safe."

"Nero?"

"Mining astroids, where he belongs."

"You realize by checking on me, you could be violating the Temporal Prime Directive."

"That's getting to be a habit of mine. Besides, the Guardian of Forever happens to be a friend mine. I think he'll let me slide. I couldn't just leave without knowing."

A flickering blue glow appeared behind her. I guess it's time to go."

"Wait." Spock said. "When you were a child, I often boasted that you were more Vulcan than human. It infuriated your mother."

"Oh, yes. I remember."

"I erred. Your ability to embrace both your Vulcan and Human heritage. To be comfortable with who you are. To be Vulcan or Human when needed. Is what gives you strength and makes you unique. That is what makes me the most proud. Tell your mother that when you see her."

"I will." The blue glow began to flicker more intensely. "I really have to go."

She kissed him on the cheek, turned around. Took two skipping steps, and vanished.


End file.
